The Tale of Walenti Potocki - The Potocki family were in business with the Skowronek bankers during the early years of the XX century, but perhaps their relationship began earlier, if Walenti really existed.

The Real Jud Süss - The Nazi propaganda film Jud Süss was loosely based on the real life story of the life of Joseph Süss Oppenheimer; a masterpiece of hatred brainwash anti – Semitic pseudo art.

The Maharal and the Golem - Judah Loew ben Bezalel was born around 1509, and died in 1609; he was a rabbi, and is more commonly known as the Maharal of Prague; according to legend, he was also the creator of a Golem.

Bashing the Villa - It was 1974 and my parents had just bought a villa near Buenos Aires; it is called Villa Julia, and it was constructed in 1870, but then it was in a need for restoration and the kids of the family just knew that we could be a little naughty and behave like a little horde in there.

And Sea Monsters Exist, After All - Ancient maps and naval charts depict monsters like giant fish and squids eating whole ships; those images have been long considered purse superstition, but the discovery of actual giant squids in recent years prove that beyond tales there are frequently some basis of truth so, there might be a lesson here: Not because something sounds far-fetched it is necessarily false.

The Atom Cracker - I am an atom cracker, and that's what I do all the time, I am afraid; I break apart atoms to look what is inside, and then I do the same with the remains over and over again. You cannot help me because if you open your heart to me I will probably crack it too because it is in my nature to rip the souls off bodies for the sake of truth, but everything - even nature - has an origin and a destiny.

The Reader Of Universes - I have books, lots of them, thousands, tens of thousands; I am obsessed with knowledge and wisdom and despite what you may think now, probably the first time you ever noticed my existence in life, I have read them one by one.

The Viscount Of Gea Cushamen - Lord Dunsany was right and so I did the same as he did once, only that I stayed in the realm of dreams of Cushamen and nothing else; this is my true, earthly dominion, you know, for I am the Viscount of Gea Cushamen, the keeper of the land of the mountains.

Different Cultures - Travellers should always take extra care in respecting the culture and habits of places they visit, even if they consider that their way of life is better or in the worst case, superior.

Games And Tournaments - Games and tournaments form part of every human culture; in all times and places, humans tend to play.

The God That Suffered From Depression - Psychology and the ability to persuade are skills that were mastered in ancient times, despite the fact that we might not know anything about the ways in which our distant ancestors lived and solved their problems.

The Purple Of Tyre - If we ponder a little about those animals that have proved to be very valuable to humans we would probably think about cattle, horses, or pets, but few know that a couple of rather smallish gastropods from Mediterranean shores have been as valuable as gold since ancient times.

How To Survive Real Estate And Property Taxes - Macchiavelli once wrote that it is more important to seem like a good person than to be one, and this is what really counts when the tax season approaches and you have to pay property and real estate taxes.

The Power of Habits (I) - Persistence underlies all worthwhile efforts, and attitude underlies all kinds of persistence. Succeeding or not is a matter of persistence, and persistence is a matter of attitude.

Ungrateful To Phoenicians - Vergil's Aeneid is an epic poem written at a time (around 29 B.C.) in which Rome had just ceased to be a republic and was headed into Empire building at a world-class scale; but the Aeneid, a constructed myth that emulated Homer's Iliad in many ways was also meant to ridicule the origins of Carthage.

The History Of An Aristocrat's Game: Baccarat - Even the Church went into the gambling business for a while, as people preferred to throw dice and use cards instead of going to mass, and little by little certain games evolved and began to take shape, and one of those was an Italian game that we today know as Baccarat.

The Creation Of The Ugly - Public servants were the objects of scorn and derision in humoristic as well as religious ways a long time ago already, when the Sumerians ruled in the Middle East; so tells us the myth of the creation of the ugly, and if even such an old myth derided public functionaries, it must be for a well-founded cause...

Society / Globalisation / Antiglobalisation - Corporate and gubernamental political players worldwide support globalisation. People in general, however, tend to oppose this process as it unfolds now, causing widespread hunger, unemployment and poverty while less than 5% of humankind benefits from it.

Society / The Editorials Of Desaparecido N.N. - There are some that lust for their fifteen minutes of fame, and then, there are those who dread them and would prefer to stay pretty anonymous; in this section we bring to light some information about people and institutions that like to make life miserable to explorers, travellers and just plain citizens.